And we continue to actually make progress. yay! wonder who we will meet in this chapter...
btw, I am trying out a new writing style, so bear with me here, 'kay? ^^ love ya'll!
p.s. a question. I am seriously wondering this and am not trying to be arrogant - why do you guys love my story so much? this is just me torturing my favorite characters and scrapping together some words. I even got messages from people saying how hooked they are to this story despite not reading fics.
just... what makes this story so addicting?
THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAD READ, REVIEWED, FAVORITED, AND FOLLOWED MY STORY! I LOVE YOU ALL!
ENJOY ^^
warning: soulless flower. 'nuff said.
Keep rocking, you guys.
Your Best Friend
They appeared in front of an enormous purple door with the delta rune engraved into it, the doors already slightly open as to give easy access to those wishing to pass through it.
"alright then. have fun there, kiddo," Sans patted Frisk's hair, "anything happens, just call me."
Frisk nodded and gave the smaller skeleton a tight hug, their body trembling a bit from the chill. Sans squeezed back quickly and then urged them to enter the doors before the child becomes a 'paps'icle. The taller brother was not appreciative of the pun.
Papyrus took Frisk's hand in his big purple glove and after a few stern words with Sans about laziness and puns on his expense, passed through the entrance with the human.
Frisk immediately took lead once inside, maneuvering through the corridors easily and climbing the stairs to Toriel's house. They stopped there for a moment, taking in the place and noticing the tracks and dirt from when the monsters in the Ruins came through the door towards the shattered barrier.
Lost in nostalgia, they jumped when Papyrus tugged their hand forward. The child stumbled a bit and looked up to the beaming skeleton.
"THIS PLACE IS A AN AMAZINGLY CRAFTED HOUSE. I'M NOT SURPRISED YOU ARE ENTRANCED WITH IT!"
Frisk blushed and nodded, following Papyrus and soon taking the lead again at the dead tree, shrugging when Papyrus asked them as to why it was black and shed its leaves.
They didn't know.
Chara didn't either.
It was a mystery, Toriel liked to tell Frisk when they had asked her while they had stayed over at Home at the beginning of their journey.
Papyrus was a bit upset at the answer but brightened up at the sight of the room rotating puzzles, talking about how they possibly work and even bending to check one of the buttons.
Frisk smiled at the enthusiasm the skeleton exhibited and decided not to press 'incorrectly' to reach the start more quickly, opting to let their friend explore.
Chara cracked up and tried to make faces at Papyrus when he checked behind stuff despite knowing that he won't be able to see the ghost. Frisk was laughing silently at the shenanigans of their partner, acting innocent when they were nearly caught by their skeleton companion.
Ultimately, Papyrus tried checking what making a mistake would do and they were plunged into the pipe system. Papyrus squealed in delight while Frisk held him tightly, getting a bit overwhelmed by the wind hitting their face and the sensation of falling that they couldn't control once more.
Chara latched onto them.
They didn't like being unable to control their falling either.
The pipe spit them out and the two had to find their feet for a moment, clutching onto one another for a moment then sharing a look and dissolving into laughter. The skeleton burst into an excited rant about the genius way the buttons opened up the venting system and how the falling helped with the ascending towards the other side. Frisk listened, enamored with the side of the skeleton that they had never heard before.
They asked him with the notepad they had remembered to bring why he won't talk more about puzzles like that. Papyrus answered that usually people would get bored from the creation part of puzzles, wanting only the rules and answer. So instead he begun making easier puzzles so he won't feel compelled with explaining his creations.
Frisk felt a bit bad for the skeleton and so told him that they would enjoy hearing the making of the puzzle so if he would like to make more complex ones it would be a good idea.
The skeleton brightened up and embraced the child tightly, nearly crushing them to death, marching forward and beginning to explain the latest puzzle he had been thinking about.
But almost immediately, he saw the six pits puzzle and had to be dragged from it, the child explaining that they didn't want to explore too much in case it would get too late and they would have to head back.
If there will be time, they would explain the puzzles when they return.
That had appeased the skeleton and they marched on once more. Passing through Napstablook's napping spot, the cheese table, and Papyrus saying hello to the rock, who was still resting on the button.
It called back that it needed a scratch so Papyrus immediately gave it a hearty scratching, exclaiming how he was a very diligent rock and even resembled the pet rock his brother should be taking care of, so he was wondering if the two were related.
Frisk and Chara giggled at the exchange, waving goodbye to the rock when exiting the room.
The crumbling maze was the first time Papyrus begged them to try out the puzzle and the child shrugged and climbed onto his back, knowing that he can't possibly know the answer if he had never even seen underneath the thin floor.
So they held on, preparing themselves for another fall.
The skeleton took a deep breath and extended his arms, wisps of cyan fog flowing from his bony fingers and spreading across the cracked floor.
Frisk's eyes widened as Papyrus took a confident step forward… onto the right block. And then he took another step, and another, and another.
The child and Ghost exchanged awed looks as the skeleton solved the puzzle perfectly.
When they had reached the other side, the skeleton shouted excitedly on how interesting and entertaining puzzle it has been.
'How did you manage to solve it without even seeing the underneath level?!' Frisk asked in awe, noticing how the cyan wisps evaporated as if they were never there.
"WELL, I JUST USED MY MAGIC TO CHECK WHICH TILES WERE REINFORCED AND WHICH WERE ONLY SOFT ROCK."
Frisk stared at him in astonishment. 'You're amazing, Papy.'
The skeleton beamed. "WHY, OF COURSE! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS THE MASTER OF PUZZLES! NO PUZZLE WILL DEFEAT ME!"
*Except for Crosswords, Chara sniggered.
The spike puzzle received the same treatment as the tiles and Frisk opted this time to stay on Papyrus' back this time and nap a bit, since their legs were tired from all the walking.
All the sleeping they did had made them weak.
They really should start walking more…
They passed the corridor where the training dummy was, then the puzzle with Toriel's… 'Hints' and finally, they were about to exit the ruins.
Frisk hopped off of Papyrus, leading him with anticipation and fear bubbling inside of them past the first puzzle and onto the staircases.
The green vines and red leaves were everywhere, taking over in the absence of the boss monster.
And yet, the place between the staircases was pressed flatly like the first time they had been there.
A sparkling SAVE star still there, hovering.
Frisk stopped to look at it in shock, puzzled as to why it was still there.
"FRISK?" Papyrus' voice diverted their attention and they smiled reassuringly, telling him that they needed to check something. He nodded and they rushed to the star, cupping it in their hands gingerly, afraid of touching it.
Chara hovered across them, trepidation in their eyes.
They exchanged looks.
*Should we?
Frisk nodded and brought their hands together, the star touching their palms.
A shock of Determination run through them and they gasped from the gust of power rushing through them.
The familiar sensation of SAVEing washed over them and Chara observed the screen that had appeared before them.
Frisk looked at the familiar screen in confusion. They hadn't seen it since they had exited the underground.
Perhaps the undeground's magic had refined their ability and gave it shape, Chara speculated. That would explain the text boxes and the narration text the ghost was able to show Frisk.
And it would explain how easier it was for Frisk and Chara to navigate the fights and… 'Dates'.
"FRISK, WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?" Frisk stiffened and slowly turned to the skeleton, scared of his reaction. Papyrus eyed them and then looked to where Chara was, eerily pinpointing their spot exactly.
Chara shuddered and moved to Frisk's side, the sockets fortunately not following the ghost so it meant that he couldn't see them.
'What's wrong?' Frisk asked hesitantly. Papyrus scratched his skull for a moment.
"I JUST THOUGHT I SAW ANOTHER HUMAN THERE FOR A MOMENT."
Frisk's blood ran cold.
Papyrus had seen Chara?
'How did they look like?'
"NOT QUITE SURE. BIGGER THAN YOU. PALE. LIGHTER HAIR THAN YOURS. GREEN CLOTHES… THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS A BIT CONFUSED NOW. ARE THEY A FRIEND OF YOURS?"
Frisk's breath came quicker and they shook. Chara had been discovered. What should they say?
Chara placed a hand on their shoulder, obviously shaken themselves. *Just dismiss it.
Frisk nodded. 'Perhaps you just imagined it?'
Papyrus nodded. "PERHAPS IT WAS ANOTHER PUZZLE."
Frisk sighed in relief. 'Perhaps. Are we continuing?'
"OF COURSE, FRISK! LET US CONTINUE!" Papyrus took Frisk's hand and the two exited the gate to the grey hallway.
Frisk took charge and the two soon reached the end of the hall, seeing the surface's sun shine on top of the small mound of golden flowers, the sweet smell overpowering the wet smell of the walls.
Chara shivered, feeling the weak pull from their decayed remains. It seems that Chara's body still held a bit of Determination. At least enough for the ghost to keep a connection to it.
It wasn't enough for resurrection, though.
Chara didn't want to wake up like a zombie anyways. They preferred to be a ghost, thank you very much.
Frisk giggled at the image, trying to force themselves to walk the last meter.
Papyrus grinned at them and they smile weakly back, asking the skeleton to remain there before gathering their courage and forcing their frozen limbs to walk the last stretch to the mound.
To the place they had fallen to.
To the place where everything had started.
To the big golden flower.
To the only six-petaled flower, who was staring up to the bright hole up high.
The human knelt next to the flower and reached out to touch the petals with trembling fingers.
Just before they felt the petals, an annoyed voice cut through the serene silence of the place.
"It was about time you would remember me…" Flowey turned around to them, eyes empty, "So what's the deal? Got tired of the flashbacks and wanted to come here to RESET?"
Frisk's eyes widened and they shook their head frantically.
Flowey's 'Brow' rose. "Then why?"
Frisk smiled sadly and raised the notepad. 'I was scared of returning because I am a coward.'
The flower's face contorted. "Why are you writing your words? Speak normally!"
The child tensed and opened their mouth, a mangled noise coming out.
Flowey stiffened and his eyes widened. "What happened? Who did that? Did one of your 'buddies' finally showed their true colors? Is that you're here?"
Frisk blinked back tears and shook their head. 'I did it… and I missed you.'
Flowey eyed them and they pointed at their throat, where the scar was. The flower stared at the scar, a vine coming up to touch the scar and causing the child to flinch.
He recoiled, but soon came back and pressed on the scar again. Frisk took a deep breath and lowered their head so their forehead was pressed to Flowey's top of the face.
"Hey, what's the deal—" Frisk wrapped their arms around him and begun to weep, shoulders shaking. The flower struggled a bit to get away from the sobbing child, but soon he simply sighed and wrapped a vine around their shoulders.
"Alright, wimpy, what's wrong with monsterkind's savior?"
Frisk blinked at the 'wimpy' nickname, their tears drying up at that.
Chara made a small chuckle. *See? I'm not the only one who thinks that?
The child smiled and drew back, wiping their tears and sniffling, smiling wetly at the flower. 'It's a long story…'
"Well, you wouldn't have come here if you didn't have time," Flowey grumbled, apparently still bitter about being left along for so long. Frisk sighed and nodded.
'I'm sorry.'
"Just tell the story already… idiot."
*So the cactus isn't the most tsundere of plants. Chara sniggered and Frisk smiled, taking a deep breath and writing down what has happened since the panic attack by the bridge.
Flowey read the words carefully, surprisingly not commenting on anything while Frisk wrote the words. They child shook more and more the further they wrote.
They tensed when they talked about the lab incident and Flowey was already opening his mouth with a smirk when he saw the grief-stricken expression of the child and shut his mouth, gesturing them to continue.
And so Frisk told the flower about the Determination creature they had apparently created during the battle with Asgore, which was trying to get them to RESET.
They spoke of the nightmares, the session, and the night where everything begun spiraling downwards.
It was hard to believe that it was barely a week ago.
And finally, they told Flowey of their dream last night and their panic attack this morning.
And how they realized that they needed to see him again.
Flowey was looking at them with wide eyes, face a combination of his Flowey's face and Asriel's.
Frisk finally placed down their notepad, fingers aching from writing so much and the pages nearly filled to the brim with words.
With their testament.
Silence fell upon the two.
Flowey swayed from side to side with an unreadable gaze. "What's the point, anyways? That freak was right, you know. You could always RESET, kill everyone and not have to deal with the monsters anymore."
Frisk shook their head.
Flowey gave an unamused huff. "Always the merciful one, huh? I would have called you boring once upon a time, but I still remember when I had compassion and I… understand you."
Frisk looked up in surprise. Flowey raised a brow. "What? Just because I'm soulless, it doesn't mean I'm an idiot. I know I can't do anything that might lead to my death since I can't RESET anymore, no thanks to you."
The child bit their lip and smiled, too tired to write anything.
"Say…" They looked at the flowey, who regarded them warily, "Why did you really come here?"
The child stiffened and sighed, shakily picking up the notepad, aching fingers scribbling. 'can't get anything past you…'
"You're talking to the one who has been through the same shit as you!" Flowey spat, "I'm not an idiot!"
'never said you were.' Frisk smiled warmly. 'I just need your opinion.'
That had gotten the flower's attention and he straightened up, excited at the prospect of something new. "Alright, shoot!"
'How do you deal with it?'
"huh?!" Flowey gaped at them. "With what? Being soulless? You don't!"
Frisk shook their head. 'Remembering.'
The golden flower blinked and burrowed into the ground, popping up to their side and curling up their arm, wrapping a vine over their shoulder and resting on the crook of their neck.
Frisk looked at him curiously, wondering why he did that. 'Flowey?'
"Frisk… be truthful with me…" Asriel's face faced them and the child stiffened. "You remember Chara, right?"
Chara tensed and their side of the link buzzed with anxiety and… dread?
Frisk nodded, wanting to turn around and look at their silent partner. Chara?
Chara didn't answer them, but the child did catch them muttering *Asriel hates me. Asriel hates me. Asriel hates me.
Frisk wanted to ask more, but had to focus their attention on the flower. 'Why?'
"Because I had a while to think of what I had said to you on this mound while in hold of my soul and I wanted to correct something."
Both the child and ghost stared at the flower. 'What?'
Flowey smirked, face millimeters from Frisk's. "Chara is still my best friend, not you!"
What?!
But before they could ask Flowey, the flower cackled and went underground.
The child sat there in shock, not knowing what had just happened. Chara then begun to laugh and Frisk turned around to see them curled on the ground, clutching their stomach as they laughed so hard, it seemed painful.
Chara? They were worried for their partner.
*He… he… he… Chara struggled to say the words while laughing.
Frisk waited for the ghost to finish laughing, a bit hurt by getting insulted by the flower and getting laughed at by their partner.
They just wanted someone to tell them how to stand the memories and Flowey had done many resets and had hurt many people and had regretted that when he had his soul temporarily back.
They just wanted some advice…
Chara giggled. *Az is a crybaby, wimpy! He is the worst person to ask for advice.
Don't be like that, Chara. He's still your best friend.
The ghost's red pupils dimmed a bit. *He actually still prefers me despite saying how perfect you were back then.
Frisk sighed and patted Chara's arm. He was missing you so he was trying to fill the gap with me. It's like with my parents. I clung to their image. Flowey thought I was you and clung to me instead.
*How in heaven's name are you anywhere like me? Chara snorted and swatted their arm. *Besides, he probably just wanted some attention. Being alone for so long and without a SOUL can drive anyone insane.
So it's a good thing you got stuck with me?
*Don't make yourself sound so grandiose, Chara smirked, cocky brat.
Frisk shrugged and was about to retort, when long legs stopped next to them and purple gloves went under them, picking them up gently.
Frisk flailed a bit at the sudden appearance, but the moment they saw Papyrus' face, they relaxed.
"FLOWEY HAD TOLD ME HE HAD SOMETHING TO SHOW US, SO HE ASKED ME TO FOLLOW!"
Frisk blinked and tilted their head in confusion. The skeleton grinned and tucked the child under his arm and begun marching forward with an exclaim.
Brown eyes and red pupils shared concerned gazes.
What is Flowey planning now?
And so I decided to write in frisk's pov. but papyrus is still hella hard to write. thanks nicolle.
And this marks the end of the thirty-first installment. if you have any criticism or anything to add, i would be happy to hear them.
please read and review so i could do better or be happy that people enjoy my writings ^^
p.s. for those who didn't understand.
'Something written' - Frisk's written words.
Something in italics - is frisk talking to chara in their head.
*something in italics - is chara talking.
something in bold - flashback